The European Commission announced that it is joining, on behalf of the European Union, the agreement to establish a Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine, BTA reports.
The document regulates the institutional, financial and administrative conditions for the functioning of the future court. Following today's decision, the states and organizations participating in the initiative will be able to ratify the necessary documents for the formal establishment of the tribunal.
The new judicial institution will have the authority to investigate and bring charges against senior Russian political and military officials for the attack on Ukraine.
The European Commission also ratified, on behalf of the EU, the agreement to establish an international commission to consider compensation claims. This structure will assess claims for damages and losses caused by Russia to Ukraine and its citizens, as well as determine the amount of compensation in each individual case.
The commission will start work once at least 25 ratifications have been collected, accompanied by sufficient financial contributions.
The European Commission is providing €10 million for the special tribunal and up to €1 million for the claims commission. The two structures will be the main international mechanisms for holding perpetrators accountable and providing reparations to victims.
The founding documents for the tribunal received political approval from a coalition of states and international organisations on 9 May last year.
Earlier this month, EU Member States authorised the European Commission to participate in the adoption of the agreement and subsequently join the tribunal as a founding member.
In December 2025, the EU and 35 other countries signed the Convention establishing the Claims Commission. It will hear cases relating to serious bodily harm, unlawful deprivation of liberty, sexual violence, loss of home and deportation of children.
This week, the Council of the European Union, with the consent of the European Parliament, adopted a decision formally authorising the EU to become a founding member of the international Claims Commission.